Warriors Game 3 rewind: First quarter

By Mark EmmonsMercury News

Posted:
04/28/2007 01:47:30 AM PDT

Updated:
04/28/2007 01:47:32 AM PDT

FIRST QUARTER - WARRIORS 29, MAVERICKS 20

PUMP UP THE NOISE

Stephen Jackson predicted earlier in the night that "the roof is gonna come off" Oracle Arena. He was almost right as the crowd of 20,629, the largest to ever witness a basketball game in California, screamed itself hoarse for the Warriors' first playoff game in 13 years. And that was before the opening tip as NBA Commissioner David Stern gave Monta Ellis his most improved player award. Then the Warriors gave fans, most clad in gold "We Believe" T-shirts, more reason to yell as Jason Richardson scored 10 points on 4-for-6 shooting with four rebounds and two assists.

CENTER OF ATTENTION

Warriors Coach Don Nelson dipped back into his bag of tricks by returning 6-foot-11 center Andris Biedrins to the starting lineup. Biedrins responded with six points and three rebounds. Al Harrington, who struggled mightily in Dallas with just 12 points on 4-for-22 shooting, didn't get off the bench.

SECOND QUARTER - WARRIORS 61, MAVERICKS 48

Warriors Game 3 rewind: Second quarter

DIRK AWAKENS

Dallas star Dirk Nowitzki, who didn't play much like an MVP candidate in the first two games, did his best to keep the Mavericks within striking distance. Most of his eight points and five rebounds - giving him 16 and eight for the game - came early in the period as the Warriors jumped out to a lead that reached 18 points.

THE STATEMENT

In the closing seconds of the half, Baron Davis drove to basket and scored on a spectacular reverse layup with Nowitzki getting called for his third foul.

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Davis then strutted slowly around the court with a scowl on his face as if to say: I am the baddest man on this floor. His free throw completed the three-point play and sent the Warriors to the locker room with a 13-point edge.

THIRD QUARTER - WARRIORS 89, MAVERICKS 71

Warriors Game 3 rewind: Third quarter

TEAM GAME

Richardson insisted before the game that he didn't care if he had a breakout game as long as the Warriors won. "It's not about me," he said. "It's about the team winning." OK, but Richardson having his best game of the series was a key reason why the Warriors stretched their lead. His eight points in the quarter gave him 25 to go along with seven rebounds.

LOSS OF COMPOSURE

The Warriors lost it in Game2 with Davis and Jackson getting ejected. But this time it was the Mavericks' turn to melt down. Josh Howard, Jerry Stackhouse and Devin Harris all got slapped with technical fouls in this period. And Nowitzki constantly was complaining to the referees about calls.

FOURTH QUARTER - WARRIORS 109, MAVERICKS 91

Warriors Game 3 rewind: Fourth quarter

BIG MINUTES

Nelson has made it clear that Baron must be on the court for the Warriors to have any chance. That's why Baron logged a team-high 42 minutes as he ended up with 24 points. Throughout the second half, fans serenaded Davis with chants of "MVP" - a not-so-subtle dig at Nowitzki.

DIRK DISAPPEARS AGAIN

After a strong first half, Nowitzki once again faded into the background, scoring just four points the rest of the game to end up with 20 to go with 12 rebounds. Maybe the Warriors really do have his number.

OVERALL

CUBAN FACTOR

It had no bearing on the game, but flamboyant Dallas owner Mark Cuban wasn't a happy camper as he stood with hands on hips for much of the game. Some fans tried to give Cuban a "We Believe" T-shirt before the fourth quarter. Cuban seemed to think that was funny. But he probably didn't think the derogatory chants directed at him were humorous, though.

REVENGE OF THE MIDGETS

So much for TNT analyst Charles Barkley's prediction of Dallas winning four consecutive games to close out the series 4-1. Barkley has been calling the Warriors "midgets." Maybe, but so far they are winning midgets.